3.30.2009

Sorry State of Media, WTOPNews.com



Continuing in the series...

This week it's eyes on WTOP. WTOP dominates the airwaves as the primary newsradio station in the DC area. You'd be better off just listening to WAMU, but that's neither here nor there. WTOP owns newsradio in this town, and they also pretend to own the Internets. In fact, in case you missed it (which you can't miss, because it's plastered on every story), WTOP won "the coveted Edward R. Murrow Award for electronic journalism excellence for this website, WTOPnews.com."

Again, like with NBC4, we have a news organization with considerable resources available to cover local news. WTOP brags about their web coverage, to the extent of making everyone painfully aware of the fact that they won a "coveted award." Oh, WTOP, thou shalt not covet thy own awards. This is worse than when DCist wrote a post about their music editor being one of Northern Virginia's most eligible singles.

So, WTOP, since you have such amazing resources and spend, I don't know, all day covering local news, why can't you put some of that information on your site? Is it because you want me to listen to your radio station instead? That's a noble goal, but you've certainly got enough advertising on your web site that driving some more traffic to it wouldn't be such a bad thing. Why is it so hard for a highly esteemed local news source such as WTOP to even come close to say, the City Paper when it comes to coverage of local politics on the Internet?

What WTOP lacks in quality or correct spelling, it does make up for in hilarious comments. Take this gem from "dik" on a story on the Maryland Senate wanting to take guns away from domestic violence offenders.
Every divorce lawyer advises the "wronged woman" to immediately file a restraining order and claim abuse. This will quickly get out of control. Just another back door tactic to take firearms out of the hands of law abiding citizens. Do you really think only men are the cause of divorce? With the 'Bama in office, the Peoples Republic of Maryland will only become more socialist. Note: communist countries don't allow citizens to possess firearms. Can any of you sleep well at night?

This is generally the trend of comments, mostly from people out in the sticks who recently discovered that they could get satellite Internet in their bunkers. People like "The Original Joe S." who write things such as:
assault weapons are regulated by the firearms act of 1934. Again, you are spewing forth LIB-A-RAL horse shirt. You continue to bleat the control-freak mantra. We need the guns to kill the control freaks when it becomes too much to bear their horse shirt.
In earlier times in some places they used to apply a red-hot piece of iron to the tongue of the constant liar. Some traditions, sadly, have not survived.....

I wish we could get this guy to come over here and comment, really.

How difficult is it to maintain a web site that provides useful information gleaned by a staff of professional reporters. How hard is it to package a story for the web, and place it online? Why has the bar been set so low that WTOP's web site wins awards? Why can't you stream your station in a way that doesn't require a Microsoft download and an entire page with instructions on how to set it up? I know times are hard for news outlets, but there's no reason why WTOP, or NBC, or WJLA shouldn't be able to emerge as a leader on the web for news. Psst, DC media, this isn't 2001. Your web sites suck. You're getting beat by bloggers at your own game. This isn't just about hyper-local coverage. This is about the bread and butter of local news. Radio ain't going to live forever, I hate to say. Get with the game WTOP.

WTOPNews.com today can claim yet another award. I am bestowing upon their web site the WHY.I.HATE.DC Geraldo Rivera Award for Journalism. WTOP sets a new standard for poor web site usability, poor copy editing, and poor coverage of local news. Congratulations, I hope to see this award displayed right below the coveted Edward R. Murrow award. Good night, and good luck indeed.

11 comments:

  1. Maybe marissa could work for them. I personally like illiterate types bc they make me think I might actually have marketable skills. Most tv and radio web sites are pretty bad... Almost uniformly. Don't know why....

    ReplyDelete
  2. m@,

    I would second that idea that WTOP think about hiring me, as I pretty much need to get a job now. But if I'm going to go into the radio business, I'm going to work exclusively for Coast to Coast AM, the best damn radio program to exist in the history of ever. Although, I must say, ever since Art Bell "retired" and George Noory took over, the quality of said program has decreased slightly. George just doesn't keep it as real as Art.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Man, how my life would be different if art bell hadn't told me about CHEMTRAILS and the NEW WORLD ORDER COMPOUND at Denver International Airport.

    ReplyDelete
  4. T
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    ReplyDelete
  5. I miss "Dead Blog" guy. Marissa, good use of the word "apropos."

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  6. WTOP is a horrible place for news. Traffic yes. Weather, sure. But there is something sort of hard hat/moron Republican about the station. Like if they are interviewing a guy about the GM bailout, the witless DJ would ask "won't all these bailouts cost us taxpayers a lot of money that we'll have to pay back later with tax increases?"

    The one thing they get a point for is that during WAMU pledge week they "welcome all of you public radio refugees who can't stand the begging." I'm one of them. I like NPR, I give them money. But there is always something very college radio/community theater about the banter during pledge week.

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  7. Wednesday, March 04, 2009
    M@ said...

    Update
    Just some "housekeeping" announcements today, folks.

    I won't allow myself any longer to be baited into making (overtly) racist comments. (I have three African Americans and a half-Asian as Facebook friends.)

    March 05, 2009
    Stanley said...
    lookin' a little tubby there, mattie. but hey, it goes with the receding hairline.

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    Oh, there's a bitch from Howard University who needs to get fucked.... I'll do that.

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    "I have three African Americans and a half-Asian as Facebook friends."

    In other words; Facebook = Reality.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    What's the grad. rate there? 30%?

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    Goodbye, nigger.

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    Bub bye! Have fun being black.

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    I got a big white cock for ya, babe. :)

    9:42 PM

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    Re: Howard University. Duh on the DSL. I used that to bait you. You told me you work at Howard.

    Got a boyfriend there? LOL

    9:44 PM

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    Yeah, I think we should just have sex. I like black chicks.

    9:46 PM

    M@ said...
    what are you? a receptionist? I know damn well you're not a doctor there. LOL.

    9:50 PM

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    u know u want it.

    9:53 PM

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    I can handle you.... and unlike black guys, i go down... ;)

    9:52 PM

    March 05, 2009
    Anonymous said...
    M@ said...
    You WISH, girlfriend. Hey, do you have gmail? This would be much easier if I could just call you or chat.

    Are you OK? You seem obsessed with me. IT's unhealthy. I worry about you....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dead Blog.

    ReplyDelete
  9. There's dead blog guy! And my gay stalker above. Good stuff. Thanks for dropping.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Black TV Jesus said he would buy me a new muffler for my Chevy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. HEY ANON FUCK!

    When you're not hiding then you can chat shit, until then, fuck off. Unless you've got the guts to go toe to toe?

    CHICKEN!

    ReplyDelete